(Bloomberg) -- Sweden announced an increased level of terrorist threat following a series of Koran burnings that have sparked anger in the Muslim world.
The threat level has been raised to four from three on a five-point scale, the head of the nation's Security Service, Charlotte von Essen, said at a news conference. That implies a “high” threat, compared with the previous “elevated” level.
“During this year, there has been a gradual worsening of the situation, where Sweden has moved from being seen as a legitimate target to a prioritized target for Islamist extremists,” she said. “This threat will remain for a considerable time.”
The move comes in the wake of a number of public events where people have desecrated Islam's holy book. The actions, which have led to protests and riots, have been criticized by the Swedish government.
Ministers are considering changing laws on public order to allow police to block provocations that may threaten national security. Previous attempts by the country's law enforcement to stop Koran burnings have been struck down by courts on the basis of Sweden's far-reaching rights to freedom of speech and assembly.
In Sweden, authorities have assessed that the threat of terror attacks has been elevated since 2010. The most recent attack in the Nordic country happened in 2017, when an Uzbek man hijacked a truck and barreled through a busy Stockholm shopping street, killing five.
The decision on Thursday to raise the threat level is not tied to any specific event and is mainly intended as a signal to society of a serious risk, according to von Essen.
“The assessment is based on what is currently known as well as potential future developments,” the director-general said, calling on authorities to double down on the work to prevent terror attacks.
The move comes after the UK government last week said travelers to Sweden should “maintain a high level of vigilance” as terrorists are “very likely” to attempt to carry out attacks.
Read More: Why Koran Burning Has Sweden and Denmark in a Knot: QuickTake
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